Watson all-round show ensures resounding win

The Rajasthan Royals routed the Delhi Daredevils by 105 runs to book a place in the finals of the inaugural IPL here at Mumbai today. A ruthless Rajasthan team totally outplayed a hapless Delhi side in all departments of the game to sound off a warning to the other two teams contesting a finals berth.

After Sehwag won the toss and elected to field, the successful opening combination of Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith got down to business. Both Smith and Asnodkar were in an attacking mood, but Smith was hampered early in his innings when he pulled up with a hamstring injury. With Kaif as his runner, Smith threw his bat at everything, using his prominent bottom hand grip to make 25 runs in 21 balls. Smith once hit McGrath for three consecutive fours, much to the displeasure of the lanky Australian.

Asnodkar, who has been a revelation for the Royals in this tournament, took his chances to score a quickfire 39 before he cut a short ball from Maharoof to Tiwary at point.

Watson came to the crease and immediately launched into Yo Mahesh, hitting him for one of the biggest sixes of the tournament, the ball landing on the roof of the stadium. The next ball was promptly dispatched into the stands as well, and Watson was well on his way.

While Watson carried on his assault to make another fifty, Yusuf Pathan entered the scene and really turned the screws on Delhi. Playing almost all his shots in the 'V', the Baroda all-rounder made an unbelievable 45 runs in just 21 balls to propel the Royals to a massive score of 191 in their 20 overs.

Much depended on the duo of Sehwag and Gambhir if Delhi were to come close to the Jaipur score, but Sehwag disappointed the crowd when he fell to Watson in the second over, a pull shot finding Tanvir at deep fine leg. This was a major blow for the Daredevils, with Sehwag posing the biggest threat in their chase of a big total.

Gambhir did not look in great touch, and he fell to a stunning catch by Taruwar Kohli at point, leaving the score at 23 for 2 in four overs. The Delhi batting collapsed from here, with their middle order failing to make an impact as the remaining 8 wickets fell for just 64 runs.

It was interesting to see Shane Warne getting the ball to turn square when he came on to bowl, as the batsmen were completely flummoxed by the wily spinner. Rajasthan were also helped by some sharp fielding, as all catches that came their way were safely pouched.

Shane Watson capped an outstanding day at the office as he picked up 3 wickets for 10 runs in 3 overs, while Munaf Patel helped himself to 3 wickets to seal the deal for his team.

The second semi-final will be played between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kings XI Punjab on Saturday, the winner of which will face the Rajasthan Royals in the final on Sunday.